December 13, 2005
ESL Textbook Recommendations
"The greater part of the world's troubles are due to questions of grammar" ~Michel de Montaigne
Hello There ESL-Textbook Hunters!
This semester, based on a trusted recommendation, I tried the following grammar book (also covers punctuation and style) which (don't laugh!) is designed for North American eight-graders. I'd like to report, though, that I had a tremendous success with it.
The funny thing is, the rules for English don't change according to your age, and this friendly, unthreatening and very approachable guide to grammar worked well in my language writing class of twentysomethings. Plus, it was considerably cheap when compared to similar products (under $6.00 USD second-hand). The downside is that there are relatively few "exercises" if you are looking specifically for a workbook.
Here is the info for the book I am referring to:
Elliott, Rebecca. Barron's Painless Grammar.
There's another good one that I use specifically for the grammar exercises. I'll mention that one in a different post. This one would even work well for private lessons, so you could have your own copy as a reference tool (without requiring them to purchase it).
Let me know if you find this one useable (or, if you've tried it before).
Remember now to dot your "i"s and cross your "t"s,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
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December 11, 2005
Teaching ESL WITHOUT An Employer
"Early to bed, early to rise. Work like hell and advertise." ~Ted Turner
Lots of us have done it. Especially with the more dodgy ESL school contracts.
The moonlighting ESL job on the side or the private student that pays as much as an hour of class at your local International House. The extra cash is good, it's all under the table and it's no real skin off your back.
Well, what happens when the demand for your services begins to exceed the amount of time you have available? In other words, if you do the math, you begin to figure that you might be able to do better doing only private lessons that having to adhere the schedule of an ESL school that doesn't get you legal working papers to begin with.
Assuming you can get away with it legally - and depending on the watchdog activity of your host town - let's say that you decide to forego traditional ESL employment and go full throttle with only private ESL lessons to account for the bulk of your income. Or, let's say that you keep a "legal" job, but only with the minimal part time hours so you will have more time to devote to your private students.
For some, this is an ideal situation. Especially when the business is easy to get.
Our encouraging friend Nigel, over on Barefoot ESL, has introduced a newer business model, one that certainly seems safer legally. He's gone back home to North America, where he's from, to set up shop exclusively as a private lesson ESL instructor/tutor. His idea is to set up a website that allows for immigrant ESL/EFL clients to find him online (the opposite of going out to find them).
Unless I'm wrong, it seems that this model resembles a "dating service" internet model where ESL learners who are seeking a private lesson ESL tutor, go to the site to "hook up" with an ESL instructor of their choice who are looking to provide private lessons. Somehow, both parties will get connected on the website leaving everyone happy in the end.
I am hoping that Nigel will find great success with his venture. Over on his blog (here), he has been expressing some of the day-to-day difficulties he's had in getting both the business and website up and running. In the interim, he's resorted to putting up posters on lamp posts, the old-fashioned way. A recent blog entry had to do with what kind of copy one should put on a poster to distinguish yourself from competing private lesson ESL instructors.
I'd like to find out from any of you, dear colleagues, whom have found particular success with the ESL private lesson industry. What strategies did you use to get more business when it was needed? How did you guarantee regular payments? How and where did you advertise? Most of all, what doesn't work?
Let's give Nigel a hand by opening up this new discussion. Hopefully, he's reading and will share his insights as well. As usual, I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
In the meantime, "your message here!"
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
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December 01, 2005
What Do You Do About Missed ESL Classes?
"The joys of meeting pay the pags of absence / Else who could bear it?" ~ Nicholas Rowe
Private lesson no-shows
Has this ever happened to you? You spent an hour preparing for a private class, then rush to get to it on time. You set up your props or whatever you will be using, then sit back and wait for your students to arrive. Ten minutes later, you're still waiting, but you have faith. After all, they've been late before. Twenty minutes later, you begin to get that "feeling," but decide to stick it out. Forty minutes later, which is exactly twenty minutes before the class is scheduled to end, you begin to pack up to go home.
If you work in a school, you may be silently cheering your luck. (Extra time to goof off!) But if this happens in a private class, you have to carefully weigh your options. Do I charge my students for the missed class or not? After dealing with this situation for a while, I finally came to a conclusion; my time is my time and I'm going to be paid whether I'm teaching or sitting in a room alone with a bunch of empty chairs.
And guess what? I now rarely have no-shows!
I talk to a lot of other teachers who are afraid of losing their private students if they put this policy into place, but I gotta tell you--it works. Your students will respect you for it AND you won't find yourself twiddling your thumbs with the song "Should I stay or should I go now?" playing over and over in your mind. (If that's not a hint about my age, I don't know what is!)
Do you have anything to say about this? Have you tried "getting tough" with your private students? (From the poll we took, I know that A LOT of you rely on private classes to supplement your income)
If you've got some advice on this subject, I'm sure everyone would benefit from it. Let's hear from you!
Until next time,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 08:13 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 29, 2005
A Dystopian Future for ESL?
"He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future." ~ George Orwell
Any science-fiction fans out there? Ok, forget Orwell's thought-police and NewSpeak for the time being.
In Ridley Scott's bleak film Blade Runner, the futuristic world society of planet Earth has evolved into one with a distinctly Asian cultural flavor. In the short-lived television series Firefly, the future is one where the English language has become synthesized, to certain degree, with the Chinese language (especially for profanity). In the also discontinued series prequel to Star Trek, Enterprise, a multicultural crew of near-future Earth denizens (who routinely speak English) frequently employ the services of their star linguist in an attempt to communicate with the "other" (who are not interested in the English language in the least). So, even in fiction, it seems, Western civilization critiques its own history with linguistic imperialism.
It comes as no real surprise then that the English language, our current lingua franca, especially for the internet, will someday give way to another. History teaches us that the Hellenistic world gave way to Latin which decades later was forgotten as French moved into that spot as the dominating Western European tongue. Why even those wily Anglo-Saxons eventually co-opted large chunks of the language of the Normans, et al. The precedent has already been set and it's just plain silliness, in my opinion, to think that the tongue of our own chosen profession, ESL, can or will last indefinitely as a viable market force.
Whether or not this occurs in our own lifetimes is, of course, debatable.
These old, pessimistic concerns were resurfaced for me recently after an October post entitled "Planning for the Future" on our friend Patricia Dean's ESL School blog here. In it, she smartly remarks on how easy it is, especially for native-speakers abroad, to sometimes feel that they already "own" the language they speak and to take it for granted that the reliable business of teaching it is here to stay. In one part of her article, she says:
Although English seems to have strength as an international language at present, will this be true when China starts to influence global business or when the Spanish speakers of the Americas flex their linguistic muscles? . . . One influence that has no historical precedent is the Internet, where English is undoubtedly the dominant language. But we have no way of knowing if that dominance will continue.
In fact, many of us have either worked at language schools abroad that already teach secondary language systems other than English or find that our own employers consider themselves in a competition for a language market that has the option of utilizing other language institutions such as "Der Goethe Institut," for example.
So, what say ye, wise colleagues and friends? Will we someday have a better chance finding work teaching, say, Spanish as a Second Language, or Chinese as a Foreign Language rather than English? (I'm betting that it WON'T be Esperanto).
Is our trade in an upward spiral or is it heading in some different direction? It's not hard for me to recall my old Polish counterparts (Russian Language Teachers) in the early '90s lamenting the bad old days when a different language held the market dominance in Central Europe, for example (they had to be re-educated). Are we living on borrowed time or is this theoretical issue something that we can pass on to the Y and Z generations to deal with later?
Consider your comments solicited.
Live long and prosper and may the Force be with you,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
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November 25, 2005
Using Halloween for ESL Class: Anytime!
"There is nothing funny about Halloween. This sarcastic festival reflects, rather, an infernal demand for revenge by children on the adult world." ~Jean Baudrillard
One annual celebration in some English-speaking countries that younger European ESL Students find utterly fascinating, once they understand it, is the now overly-commercialized institution of Halloween. How can you incorporate this into an ESL lesson plan? For starters, you could begin with a discussion of the definition for the word "holiday" itself (holy-day), and what North Americans, for example, really consider a holiday and what they consider an annual celebration. If you are teaching in a country that REALLY has no familiarity with the occasion, you can probably get away with doing this lesson ANY time of the year, at least once.
NOTE: For myself, I can only speak for North Americans. Correct me if I'm wrong, but The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language claims that Hallowe'en is also observed in the British Isles (see paragraphs 4 and 5).
Because of Halloween's proximity to very sacred religious observation(s) in Catholic European countries, such as All-Soul's Day and All-Saint's Day (the days of the dead), some European ESL students might come to the table with a predetermination that North Americans (or others) are disrespecting their sacred memories of the deceased. This, in fact, has happened to me personally on more than one occasion. Rather than a cause for alarm, it is, instead, a unique opportunity to employ a little cultural diplomacy by introducing a condensed history of Ireland's Samhain (apparently pronounced "SOW-en" in Gaelic) and getting your ESL students to explain the meanings and rituals of their own localized religious observances by comparing and contrasting them with the history and traditions of "All Hallows' Eve."
For instance, according to the Oxford English Dictionary and Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English, Samhain is an Irish word that refers to "the first day of November, marking the beginning of winter and a new year for ancient Celts" according to their own calendar. For Wiccans and other pagans, however, Samhain is celebrated on October 31, and is also referred to as November Eve, Hallowe'en, Hallowmass (one of the quarter-days of ancient Scotland), Feast of Souls, and the Feast of the Dead.
Halloween (short for All Hallow Even) is celebrated in the United States, Canada, and the British Isles on October 31st with children going door to door while wearing disguises, asking for treats and playing practical jokes on those who do not comply.
Some of the older ESL students, generally the drinking-legal, college-aged ones, already recognize the "masquerade party" aspect of Halloween and observe this night of debauchery (in select locales) alongside Western expatriates in the more cosmopolitan European cities. You too can bring some of this "fun" into the classroom. If you have younger ESL students, ask them all to bring a number of loose candies equivalent to the number of students in the class plus the teacher (you too should bring enough candy to represent every student). Demonstrate the process of trick or treat, by asking every student to approach another with the phrase "Trick-or-Treat!" until every student has fully exchanged their candy. This will be especially effective if you bring a candle and dim the lights to create a spooky atmosphere.
An entire ESL vocabulary lesson can be planned beforehand about the Halloween experience, e.g. "ghoul," "goblin," "costume," "disguise," "treat," "trick," etc., and you might break the class into small groups to invent "tricks" they might play on persons unwilling to give them candy on Halloween. Have the ESL students then present their "trick" to the class in English.
Finally, if they do not object, you might try your hand at creating a "fright" story. You can write the first sentence at the top of a piece of paper like, "It was dark rainy night at the castle/ESL school on (insert your street’s name here)." Then, in small groups again, each group could be assigned to invent a next line to the story, first, perhaps, in their native language, then transcribing it into English onto paper. Encourage them to be as "frightening" as possible. When you get to the end, finish the story yourself with a "surprise" sentence like “and the villain is right outside the window!” or some such nonsense (unbeknownst to them), light the candle again, dim the lights and read their story back to them in a slow, scary voice.
This will be one ESL lesson they will likely never forget!
Let us know here at ESL-Lesson-Plan if you have done something successful with Halloween in your ESL classes that you’d like to contribute to your fellow readers. And remember, in the words of Arthur Conan Doyle, Sr., "Where there is no imagination there is no Horror."
With hopes that this will be both a “trick” and “treat” for your ESL classroom,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
P.S. If you'd like to use the topic "Halloween" in an ESL lesson plan but would first like to research its history, please visit the following link for information that will help you design the perfect ESL lesson plan! www.halloween.com/history_halloween.php
*For a whole page of North American Halloween lesson plans that you might be able to "adapt" to the ESL classroom, please explore the following site: www.lessonplanspage.com/Halloween.htm
Posted by lhobbs at 05:32 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
November 24, 2005
Impromptu ESL Teaching Demonstrations
"It usually takes me three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech" ~Mark Twain
Hi friends,
Have you ever been asked to give an extemporaneous speech or to perform on the spot? How embarrassing is this if you don't feel prepared?
Presently, this is exactly what's happening in some ESL schools when job applicants are "invited" to an employment interview. Like the ESL students who are often asked to demonstrate their English language abilities (so that they can be properly placed), potential ESL teachers can also be expected to be held to a similar standard by demonstrating their teaching ability. Plus, if the ESL school has organized these interviews wisely, they could theoretically charge students for a pre-semester session of ESL classes while getting some free labor from their ESL instructor applicants (let's hope that schools aren't really doing this!)
Over on a blog called English Teacher by Aacircle, some advice has been proffered for handling oneself in an ESL employment interview should the "demo lesson plan" ever become a requirement of the interview process. Some good ideas for handling yourself are certainly there, but I won't repost them here. But, do check them out if you have the time.
My follow-up to Aacircle's remarks are less about a critique and more about a desire for substance. The tips can be summed up as, basically, being well-prepared, in advance, to deliver a well-rounded, student-centered sample lesson at some point during your interview and to do it eloquently, gracefully and professionally, of course, with enough student activity and student speaking time to convince your observers of your ability. Sounds easy enough, huh?
A few of Aacircle's commenters thankfully replied with what I had hoped the article itself might have addressed: ideas for this sample interview! One of our regular commenters on ESL-Lesson-Plan, EFL Geek, was happy to suggest:
. . . using an ice-breaker activity or something that is very energizing. The students you see will not be familiar with each other or with the teacher (candidate). An ice-breaker in this case is a perfect exercise - just be sure to preteach some language before beginning.
Poster Harriet Lendien suggested using an "ice-breaker" in the demo by:
getting students to ask their most embarrassing situation. You come up with some great results, and students have a good laugh too.
In an earlier blog post this month (here), I had suggested using the name game (or some variation) as a first day of class lesson plan. Some shortened, modified version of this idea could also be used if its a concept you are already familiar with.
These are all excellent suggestions, I'm sure, but what do you think it might be that our potential ESL employers are looking for, specifically? Personality? A "body of knowledge" as suggested by PD in her ESL School blog? Perhaps some, as of yet, undefined, happy medium between a brilliant rapport with the students and a demonstrable teaching ability?
Surely, if we collectively pool our own ESL interview experiences we should be able to come up with some even more unique (and useable) ideas couldn't we?
Rather than preaching my own style of ESL to you all the time, I'd really love to hear your ideas about a "sample ESL lesson plan" that you'd be willing to present before a class of ESL students on an ESL job interview. Speak up, and share! This should be your forum as well as mine.
May the wind be always to your back in a demo lesson,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 05:28 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 23, 2005
ESL Jailbirds and Stool-Pigeons
"I don't like jail, they got the wrong kind of bars in there" ~Charles Bukowski
ESL Inmates? Sounds like the title for a new blog on the horizons.
Your ever-present ESL advocate here, Lee Hobbs. As usual, I am on the case scouring the net for relevant ESL articles that might spark your interest. Patricia Dean's highly informative blog, ESL School, takes the perspective of the ESL employer, advising them with employer-related woes. I try, where possible, to offer you at least a counter perspective, that is the perspective of the ESL teacher/employee so that the discourse can continue on various levels of engagement. Check it out; it might give you some insight too on how the management world is presently thinking about us, their most important asset! Don't forget to leave her some comments.
In PD's most recent post, found here, she writes, and I quote:
In recent months we have seen a spate of reports about English teachers running into trouble with the authorities in the countries where they work. The alleged offences range from infringement of visa and work permit regulations to far more serious charges of drug use. The penalties the teachers face may be deportation at one end of the spectrum to lengthy prison sentences, or worse, at the other end.
She advises, rightly I might add, that the ESL institution itself should stand beside/behind its teachers when they find themselves in trouble with the law on their watch. While I'm not really interested in getting in a debate over this issue in this post, I am interested to know if any of you out there have had experiences, or should I say run-ins, with the long arm of the law in other countries where you have had ESL employment? I'd really love to hear your testimonies and, of course, what happened as a result, i.e. what was the outcome?
One story that has stuck with me for many years, involves a colleague in St. Petersburg who once had a rather, shall we say, sordid affair with a college-aged person of the opposite sex. Again, the relationship got excessively "serious" for the teacher in question and was dissolved, much to the scorn of the spurned lover. Here, something unusually vicious happened. The ex-lover decided to go the police through a family network acquaintance, and file a report that the ESL teacher had "confessed" a history of psychiatric treatment. The person's "concern" was that this "unstable" ESL teacher/foreigner was now roaming freely in Russia and given official sanction over helpless Russian children (ESL students) in a classroom environment where he had a great opportunity to warp their young minds and Heaven-only-knows what else. The lover's testimony, of course, was completely and ridiculously bogus, but the allegation was taken very seriously by the authorities. You can imagine the troubles our young friend encountered as a result of this (in)famous story of unrequited love. Again, lawyers were procured to fend off the police hounds but a professional reputation was shattered in the meantime.
Well, enough of my war-stories. Let's hear from you please. Anything you'd like to add to this discussion? Please leave a comment and let's find out if there might be other dangerous areas for which ESL instructors should carefully tread when living and working abroad.
Now if Monopoly only issued legitimate "get-out-of-[international]-jail" cards!
See you in the free world,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 05:41 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
November 17, 2005
ESL Vitas, Reference Letters and You!
"It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles." ~Niccolo Machiavelli
When it comes to a written document of your "titles" and employment credentials, North American ESL instructors new to the teaching field are sometimes chastised for using the word "résumé." This is because in education, particularly in Europe for example, they prefer "the C.V." Sometimes, in the States for example, you will hear this sacred document referred to as the "vita." So, what's the difference, you might say. Aren't they synonyms?
Actually, no. There's a fundamental difference between the "curriculum vitae" and your everyday, run of the mill résumé, and, as an internationally savvy ESL instructor, you should know the difference. In the last issue of ESL Instruct (here) I discussed this briefly. Perhaps it deserves some more detail here.
Where your North American résumé may have sufficed in getting that job answering phones at a telemarketing agency, for example, it won't do you much good when looking for employment at European ESL establishments (other world markets, let's hear from you! Is this true for you too?).
A résumé is generally short, by definition. Your technical writing instructor in college probably told you to keep certain parts of your career short and to the bare minimum. That's how North Americans often like things isn't it? Gloss over the ugly moments by emphasizing the good stuff.
Well, that's not how your potential ESL employers might like things. They will likely want to know the whole, mundane story. That's where your C.V., or vita, comes into play. Vitas typically span several pages and are very descriptive documents that highlight all of your academic and scholarly "achievements." Some employers even want a passport photo included if you can believe it! (Let's save that one for a future discussion!) In any event, the vita is the place to show off your presentations, your publications, and curricular involvement such as workshops, conferences and organization affiliations.
Unlike a résumé which can generally be adjusted to fit any kind of job, the vita is a document specific to education. Unlike a résumé that paints a sometimes deceptively beautiful picture of the applicant by emphasizing skills to deemphasize a lack of experience, a vita is not so easily forgiving.
BTW, if you'd like to see some hilarious examples of what "not" to write, check out this collection of things that some people have put on their vitas and cover letters here.
Like Detective Friday, the vita asks for "only the facts, Madame." There are usually no hobbies and interest categories to hide behind. A vita will want a chronological listing of your academic degrees, certifications, your work experience, and so on. Be sure to study many examples of successful vitas before crafting your own. Be prepared for ESL employers overseas, especially if they aren't native speakers well-versed in equal opportunity, to sometimes ask you things about your maritial status, age, race, gender and other vital statisitics that are often off-limits in western applications.
Whichever you decide to use, a vita or a résumé, you can get some really clever advice on presenting yourself on paper by the president of A+ Resumes for Teachers, and Dual-Certified Professional Résumé Writer, Candace Davies. Check out some of her articles on the subject here.
Also, if you plan to job-hop, don't burn your bridges. It might mean having to leave useable items off your C.V. leaving the hiring committee to wonder why you have "holes" in the timetrack of your career. In my experience, ESL employers almost always want to see a letter of recommendation from your previous employer. See this post about about what ESL employers are chatting about with regards to reference letters here.
So, if you are planning to move overseas for teaching ESL, ask your previous employers from home first for suitable letters of reference. If you leave a job overseas for another, try to do so on good terms and be sure to request a letter of reference well in advance of handing in your textbooks, etc.
Hasta la "VITA" baby,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
P.S. For more information about how to write a "winning" C.V., please investigate the following website dedicated to the subject: www.cvtips.com
Posted by lhobbs at 04:02 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
November 16, 2005
When ESL Students Evaluate their ESL Instructor
"There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it." ~ Dale Carnegie
It's that time of the semester again: the end! Student evaluations of the teacher! You know, have a fellow teacher come into the room for 15 minutes, hand out #2 pencils and multiple choice grade sheets while you go do the same for another “strange” class. It seems so mundane yet so much might be hanging in the balance with the pencil scratches of those students.
Are you like me, wondering what your students are going to say about you now that you are out of the room? Do you expect the ones who expect to get "As" to give you high marks while the ones who know their grade is in danger to score you, in retaliation, with a negative evaluation score?
And, don't get me started on websites like "rate-my-teacher" or "rate-my-professor." There, teachers are actually marked according to whether or not they are "hot" and not on their ability to teach (winners get a chilli-pepper while the other poor saps don't!) We might begin to wonder at a student's capability to fairly evaluate a professional instructor.
On the other hand, as Seton Hill's Dr. Arnzen pointed out in a post on Pedablogue:
Students (esp Freshman) aren't really skilled in evaluating teachers -- and yet, perhaps they are to some degree because they've been studying teaching as much as course content their whole lives.
I also came across a post on Patricia Dean's blog here called "A Model for Evaluation" at ESL School a short time ago as I began to verbalize these ideas.
As a teacher, I appreciated her comments about the students' course evaluations. However, I can't help but think about the old "bigger business" is > than "educational standards" equation that we must concede exists in many ESL schools abroad.
It reminds me of my own ESL experiences overseas, with some ESL schools that is, where the song-and-dance-routine ESL teachers always seemed to fare better with their students' evaluation of them than the brick-n-mortar types who actually tried to teach the course agenda. As a result, the winners of the popularity contest were often asked to return the following semesters while others, who were sometimes far better educators, were asked to leave because the students simply "couldn't have fun" with them.
Sometimes these teachers were turning out students who couldn't perform satisfactorily on the practice TOEFEL exams, for example, but DID sign up for the same ESL school the next semester. By the same token, I actually saw where sometimes the classes that did do quite well on their practice CAE/CPE exams didn't return to the school because they heard through the grapevine that another school had teachers that took their students to parks and the pubs for lessons, etc. Perhaps I'm only speaking from my own experience, but I found the whole evaluation process disheartening rather than an encouraging opportunity to find out where I excelled and where I needed to improve (in order to get my ESL students to learn more/better). Most of my colleagues, understandably, absolutely dreaded this entire process when the time came around.
I realize that the situation with some private ESL schools is that the owners sometimes have to play to multiple sides of an issue: potential ESL students want the best price for an ESL class in town, the funniest ESL teacher they've ever had and, or course, the best education too. Even my own present institution (a state university) brands itself with hilarious and, some say, contradictory "quality-affordability-excellence." We are particularly proud of the boldly vague and trite marketing concept of "excellence!"
Sometimes, it seems, a few of those "qualities" are bound to conflict with the others. For example, with cheaper tuitions come the possibility of having to pay the teachers less leading (sometimes) to lower-quality teachers. With that in mind, how seriously can hiring committees really take student evaluations when, very often, many of them will just tick every box for "very satisfied" on the teacher that told the funniest jokes and "very dissatisfied" for the teacher that gave them homework. Shouldn't peer-review teacher observations perhaps count for more (or at least as much as) than student observations?
Would be interested to hear the thoughts of other ESL instructors out there on my "rant" of the day.
Until we rant again,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 01:13 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
November 14, 2005
Encouraging ESL Students to Talk
"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names" ~ John F. Kennedy
Ever wonder what to do on the first day of class? Nervous about remembering new students' names? Well, the first day of class is the perfect opportunity to satisfy both of these apprehensions.
In the last newsletter (here), I offered one of the first-day-of-class lessons I like to use in the ESL classroom.
The "name game," of course, is a near-perfect icebreaking gimmick that will (1.) Give students the opportunity to learn a little bit about you and be a little more comfortable with your presence, (2.) Allow you the opportunity to both learn their names and quickly assess their abilities in English. With that in mind, this activity can be adjusted for difficulty according to the class level you are assigned.
I usually play the name game with a "twist." After writing my own name on the board and then introducing myself as their teacher, if they are college age or younger, I ask each of them (in turn) to tell me their hobby. If they are older students, I ask of their profession. Then I ask them to introduce me and themselves to the rest of the class. If their name is Marek and they like to fish then they are dubbed "Marek the fisherman," for example. Then the next student must introduce me, "Marek the fisherman" and him/herself to the rest of the class with a funny moniker as well. I usually have to help them with this, but it's not time-consuming enough to disrupt the class. Each student continues to introduce him/herself plus all the neighboring students that preceded him or her in the game.
If a student begins to forget some of the information, the class will often find it fun to help out but remember to ask them to speak only in English if possible. When you've arrived at the last remaining student, the process can be reversed with new data added such as which month their birthday falls (you can be creative and choose your own "category"). So, now the last student is introducing herself, for example, as "Kasia the hiker whose birthday is in May" with the next student introducing Kasia and him/herself. This process continues until it comes back to the teacher. You will usually find that you have used up all of the allowed class time by then, although you can see how easy it would be to keep adding categories to continue if necessary.
When this activity is finished, a few things are almost certain: you will know a lot more about your students than you ever expected to know on the first day and they too will feel much more relaxed about their classmates, you and your friendly, personalized teaching style. For the next few classes, try this tip: just for fun, keep using their new handles. For example, "Pawel the windsurfer, please read the next passage aloud," and so forth. Afterwards, you'll find that stepping into class will be more like speaking with new friends.
For more advice on student "mind-control" (that's said tongue-in-cheek), refer to a post by the same name on the eclexys blog of Nordsellar (who sometimes comments on ESL-Lesson-Plan) here.
Until next time (my name is),
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 04:20 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
November 12, 2005
Impressing a Potential ESL Employer
"Only strong personalities can endure history, the weak ones are extinguished by it" ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
I recently came across an enlightening message in a post (here) about what ESL employers are looking for when hiring a teacher. I thought that there might be something there worth of discussion for us, the ESL "employees."
In a nutshell, this poster suggested that employers should look for three "attributes" in a potential ESL instructor. These were, and I quote:
1. "an engaging personality,"
2. "a set of skills that permit them to a organize a class well," and
3. "a body of knowledge that they can use as a classroom resource."
All good points, but how do you think that an employer will effectively (and fairly) quantify some of these quite abstract (and subjective) requirements, e.g. an "engaging" personality? Is this something that they can "feel out" effectively on their own?
With that in mind, how can we be sure that our vitas truly reflect "a set of skills that permit [us] to organized a class well?" Are there things that need to be on our vitas that might cost us the job should we choose to omit it? Could this work the other way around, i.e. including too much info?
The last point seems espcially esoteric in that it suggests we come to the application table with a "body of knowledge" that can be used as a classroom resource. That's fine and dandy but I wonder what "bodies" of knowledge are acceptable and which are unnacceptable. Should that body of knowledge be focused primarily on former academic training (degrees, etc.) or from actual work in the field. I say this because those are two very distinct things, i.e. information acquired from Ivory Tower theory books and data collected fom experience.
Anyway, now that you know what your employers may or may not be looking for, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on what does (or does not) make a good ESL teaching candidate.
In solidarity,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 08:07 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
November 09, 2005
ESL Classroom Observations
"This inescapable duty to observe oneself: if someone else is observing me, naturally I have to observe myself too; if none observe me, I have to observe myself all the closer." ~ Franz Kafka
Yes, we are required to have them from time to time and they are pain in the neck. But, are they really helpful or just more red tape to cut through to keep our jobs safe? I’m talking about the classroom observations that are often conducted by our peers or, in some cases, our employers.
Speaking for myself, I’ve had relatively good feedback from these activities that have served to improve my teaching methodology. When I say “good” I mean constructive, i.e. useful, criticism. On the other hand, I’ve heard some horror stories from my colleagues. Many schools, like mine, require them as part of your job but put the responsibility of scheduling for them on your shoulders. That means you have to go look these people up (other teachers) and somehow arrange for them to sit through a whole class and then submit a signed write-up that you then sign yourself and file with the department. Time consuming to say the least!
The worst part is that very often, the “peers,” as we call them, forget to show up or schedule in other things for that day at the last moment: basically sending you the signal that your job is not important to them. I always get irritable this time of the semester chasing down various people around the campus. So unorganized!
According to a post I recently read by Lynne Wolters (found here), there now exists highly innovative software that can actually do classroom observations for you (so it claims). Have any of you heard of this (or tried it?) It’s called “eCove” and, apparently, it “removes the guess work and opinion from the classroom observation process. It captures and combines empirical data to give a far more accurate view of classroom behavior than any other software tool on the market.” Sounds like a very tall allegation! It also sounds like a person must still be involved to "input" the data. Am I wrong?
I’d love to hear your comments on the subject of peer-review classroom observations in the ESL field and the possibility of having real people “replaced” with some kind of software or robot! Especially if the end-user, i.e. our employers, are using this stuff to determine if we are acceptable teachers or not. Yikes!
With serious consternation,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 03:33 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
November 08, 2005
Plagiarism in ESL Part II
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism, to steal ideas from many is research." ~ Anonymous (of course)
Even this quote must have been attributed to someone. Here are just a few additional comments on "Plagiarism in the ESL Classroom," a topic begun a few days ago on this blog.
Thanks to everyone for all your comments on my previous rant. Since copyright infringement and the issue of legality floats over the implications of plagiarism, I found it interesting that one concerned reader of this blog (I won't say who!) sent me this discussion today online here with thanks to Kenneth Burgess.
Burgess summarizes a "fascinating" post found here on plagiarism by Judge Richard A. Posner. Says Burgess, "Among other things, [Posner] explains why plagiarism by a professor is not as serious as—and therefore deserves less punishment than—plagiarism by a student. He also points out, quite rightly, that 'plagiarism' is a morally loaded term. It functions both to describe and to prescribe." This, to me, sounds a lot like another word I know: hypocrisy!
To further complicate the issue, the suggestion in Posner's post that a student paper is somehow less important (or dangerous) because it is probably an unpublished work is particularly fascinating. With the popularity of online writing courses and technology services like Blackboard and WebCT, I wonder how papers and essays "published" on these kind of public programs fare legally. Are they indeed legally published and applicable to the same rules of plagiarism? What about papers submitted to anti-plagiarism services like www.turnitin.com? Since all texts submitted to this service become technically "public" are they indeed published papers in the eyes of the law?
Curious to hear what you think,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 06:02 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
November 07, 2005
Evaluating Student Work in ESL
"True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information." ~ Sir Winston Churchill
Perhaps one of the most daunting aspects of teaching, particularly a class with writing as its focus, is how to fairly evaluate a student’s classwork assignments. Of course, I’m speaking for myself, perhaps some of you out there actually like this part of the job (sickos!)
I’ll be honest, I really can’t stand the process of grading papers (although I do love reading them and providing helpful advice). Evaluation, it seems, is a necessary evil and has got to be done (so says the institution) but why does it have to be so stressful?
Distinguishing between the various language formalities and acknowledging mechanical/formatting errors are one thing but fitting a particular paper’s content into a grading rubric is quite another. Do we really want to enforce writing organization rules to the point that every single student paper we read is a sibling to the one before? What about grading style? Isn’t style just what the word implies? How can we really do anything other than give friendly advice on style? Quite often, I actually end up deducting more points for a failure to follow the instructions rather than the actual writing itself (how fascist!).
To make things worse, unless an overbearing institution has prescribed all the rules, it seems that every teacher has his or her own method for handling evaluation. Agreement in our field is rare. Once in awhile I will turn to my colleagues for their perspectives (interesting how secretive some of them are about their process). Sometimes, I actually do get some good advice but usually I come away more baffled than before.
When so much is on the line for a student and his or her future by what score they receive for an assignment, or for that matter an entire course, how do we as instructors fairly “evaluate” (and I purposefully use that work in quotation marks) our students? Our employers insist on this point, the students’ parents often demand it and even the students themselves want to know where they stand, not only from a class ranking perspective but also in the eyes of their beloved teacher.
As much as I’d like to give everyone an “A,” I realize that teachers who do this are only cheating the majority of their students by providing them with a very false sense of achievement. Sooner or later, the skills students fail to acquire in the more elementary levels will be needed to pass a higher level course with a similarly high score.
Is there something wrong with my logic here?
Well, I always knew this was part of the game when I first chose teaching as a career but that doesn’t mean I expected it to be the fun part. I’m curious what my ESL (or other) teaching readership out there has to say about the subject of evaluation. Gripes, insights and helpful advice are all welcome on this blog. What do you find to be a helpful methodology when it comes to this very touchy and controversial subject?
Maybe I'll just turn to that purported software that can do it for you now, lol. Saw it in a post by Hilzoy here.
Your patience with my rant is appreciated.
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 03:34 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
November 06, 2005
ESL & PowerPoint Presentations
"Professors known as outstanding lecturers do two things; they use a simple plan and many examples." ~ W. McKeachie
If my memory doesn't fail me, it seems that the business types latched on to this technology first, the publishing field being no exception. The administrative branch of the school system used it to “preach” their new policies to the faculty branches.
When their use first became prevalent in teaching, I thought that they were the greatest thing since sliced bread. I still use them a lot, not only for course lectures but also for conference presentations, etc. If you suffer from stage-fright, it certainly gives your “audience” something to look at besides yourself! Even more importantly, as the quote suggests, they keep any “lecture” you feel compelled to impose upon your class "simple" by sticking to a planned outline and even entertaining with the ability to use graphics, examples and even “quotations” as writing prompts. I shouldn't even have to make a comparison to the expense or making (and trouble of making) overhead transparencies, the older method.
Apparently, students are now being prepped to use MS-PowerPoint as early as grade school. Recently, almost all of the individual projects that require a presentation that I assign to students are being done with this very graphics-heavy technology. I don’t want to say that I’m getting bored with it (more like addicted to it), but I do often wonder if, perhaps, something crucial might be missing from this kind of pedagogy. This might be especially true if we, as instructors, begin to rely on it as a crutch or overuse it.
The current consensus seems to be that lately, since so many people are now using them that know very little about graphic design, that the majority of them stink! This might be, as pointed out by Brad Feld here, the fault of the user and not the software itself.
Anyway, I just wondered how many others in the ESL field are using, or have their students use, the PowerPoint technology (or something similar) in the classroom? Do you find this to be a practical/helpful educational tool or the metaphorical path to eternal damnation? I would seriously appreciate it if any of you might share your concerns about the use of PowerPoints including what you feel are good (and bad) ways to use it in an academic environment.
Next slide please!
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 02:39 AM | Comments (9) | TrackBack
November 05, 2005
Plagiarism and ESL
"The more laws & order are made prominent, the more thieves & robbers there will be." - Lao Tzu
What a day.
Today I had my first “plagiarizer” of the semester. With the accessibility of the internet, plagiarism in papers has become easier and easier for students to do and, at the same time, simpler for instructors to detect. Even though I always demonstrate this simple procedure to my own students, there always seems to be someone determined to try and slip through the system.
My colleagues tell me that this particular problem is really beginning to get out of hand, especially since institutional acceptance standards have been dropped in order to increase enrollment. Hell, even our own politicians do it these days, what kind of example does that send to a young audience? (see related article here)
After an exhausting yet thorough lecture in my office on the lying and stealing aspects of plagiarism, I’m having my student write a new, “longer,” essay on the meaning of honesty and his own experiences with it.
I’m curious though, how have the ESL teachers reading this particular blog dealt with the issue of plagiarism in their classes? I’d especially like to hear from those who have a writing component in the upper levels.
In solidarity,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 01:38 AM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
October 20, 2005
Greetings ESL Teachers From Pennsyltucky, USA!
"That's the secret to life... replace one worry with another...." ~ Peanuts' Charlie Brown
A Big "Hello" to all ESL Blog-Readers and Forum Participants,
For those of you who don't know me (and that's probably almost everybody) my name is Lee Hobbs and I'll be taking over the ESL Lesson Plan blog for a bit as Michelle is currently on extended leave (okay don't start throwing the tomatoes yet!). Please read on:
As the newly-appointed kid on the virtual ESL block, I’d like to first say hello to all the loyal ESL blog readers out there. For those who have already written to me, I thank you for the warm welcome.
I've been assigned to stand in for Michelle, who did a fine job, for both the ESL Instruct newsletter and this blog. I'll also be around as the newest ESL Forum moderator. For you curious types, here is a little blurb on my background :
As a North American native-speaker of English, I spent six years abroad working in the emerging ESL field of Central Europe during the 1990s. During that time, I had the opportunity to work closely with various sectors of ESL teaching, e.g. public grade-schools, public universities and private language schools. Now, in addition to writing newsletters for the publishers of ESL Instruct, I am presently teaching college classes in the United States and completing my doctoral work.
I look forward to hearing from everyone out there. Also keep your eyes peeled for the latest edition of the ESL Instruct newsletter...I'll be authoring the October edition.
With kind regards,
Lee Hobbs
ESL Instruct, Editor-in-Chief
ESLemployment.com
Posted by lhobbs at 11:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 13, 2005
Interview Anyone?
Ah yes, the new school year is upon us, and we all know what that means--interviews!
Does anyone else hate them as much as I do??
If you're preparing for a change in your ESL position, or are a newbie going for your first interview, here are a few simple tips to help get you through it.
•Be certified. Although some schools will still hire teachers just because they are native speakers, those days are quickly passing. (I had a reader ask this week if certifications are a waste of time. My answer is a resounding NO! While it is possible to still get a job without one in some areas, it's important to remember that "getting a job" isn't the only reason to get certified. By attending one of these programs, you'll be better prepared to walk into a classroom full of students who don't speak your language, yet expect to!) Honestly, it takes more than "knowing the language" to be a successful ESL teacher.
•Dress appropriately. Just because you’re applying for a school located on a beach, that doesn’t mean you should wear shorts and sandals to the interview!
•Be confident. If you are well-trained, you should reek of confidence. Schools will usually question whether a shy teacher can take control of a class.
•Follow Up. There are scores of stories about a teacher following up on an interview, and being offered the job on the spot. Sometimes, a well-timed contact is just what an interviewer needs to make that final decision!
Do you have a funny interview story that you'd like to share? If so, drop me a line, and if I get some good ones, I'll post them here. It can only help to alleviate everyone's nerves in the interview season!
Until next time,
Michelle
Posted by msimmons at 02:26 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 06, 2005
How Much Can You Earn Teaching ESL?
Hello everyone!
Many times people new to the industry write in and ask how much they can expect to earn as an ESL teacher. Well...here's my favorite answer again...it depends.
As someone who has been on both ends of the spectrum (I've taught in Japan as well as Mexico), I can honestly say this: it's not how much you earn, it's what lifestyle your salary will afford you.
Perhaps a better question would be: How well can I live on the salary offered? Teacher’s salaries in the ESL world vary wildly—depending on many factors. One of the most important is the country in which you will be teaching. For example, a teacher in Asia will certainly make much more money than a teacher in Mexico, but the standard of living may not be all that different.
You first need to ask yourself what it is that you want to get out of the experience. Here are a few questions that should point you in the right direction.
1)Do you want to earn as much money as you can, or do you simply want to enjoy the experience?
If making a lot of money is your goal, then you should probably look at some of the Asian countries, or Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, if experience is what you’re after, you’ll need to sit down and make a list of what you enjoy. For example, would you prefer the historical, romantic atmosphere of Greece, or the friendly, laid-back feel of Mexico?
2)How much do you want to work?
Some countries lend themselves to hectic, fast paced lifestyles while others are more relaxed and don’t offer as many opportunities for extra private classes or overtime at a school. You’ll have to decide on the right pace for you.
By pinpointing what you want to get out of your teaching experience, you will have taken the first step in deciding what type of salary to expect.
In next month's newsletter (out next week!) I have dedicated the entire issue to answering questions such as these. Read it and you'll know everything you ever wanted to (and probably more) about the ESL teaching life.
Until then!
Michelle
Posted by msimmons at 05:11 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 02, 2005
Do You Do Homework?
Hello everyone!
Today I'd like to talk about homework. This can be a touchy subject for some because people tend to either love it or hate it! But there is one thing that I know: students who are willing to do homework simply learn faster. But--at least in the area that I teach--not many of them are willing to do it. In fact, the one thing that I have learned is that if I assign homework, I can count on at least half of the students not showing up for the next class!
But really, how can anyone expect to learn another language by coming to class two times a week, and doing nothing in between?
I have tried to explain the importance of homework. I have made the assignments easy. I have given them longer periods of time to complete them. I have even tried the reward system.
But still--nine out of ten students simply won't do it.
I try to put myself in their shoes. Most of my students are busy professionals with families, and so I know that their time is limited. But they are paying to learn English, and it seems silly to me that they would invest two days a week (plus the cost of the class), and then not be willing to do something as basic and important as homework.
Do you have the same problem? I'm beginning to wonder if this is a cultural thing in Mexico. Does anyone else teach in Mexico, and if so, are you experiencing the same problem?
Has anyone overcome this problem? If so, I'd love to hear from you!
Until next time,
Michelle
Posted by msimmons at 01:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
March 11, 2005
Can You Say Hola?
Or perhaps the better question is: Should you? Recently, I was in one of my beginner classes—where I make it habit never to speak anything but English—and one of my students was having a difficult time understanding a particular point. Every single fiber of my being wanted to shout out the sentence in Spanish to make it easier for him. But I didn’t. You know why?
I have a theory. If my students knew that I spoke Spanish, I believe that their expectations of me would change immediately. No one wants to struggle to get a point—people naturally want do things the easy way—but that’s not necessarily best when it comes to learning a new language. And so if they knew that I spoke Spanish, they would expect me to use it in the classroom.
And so I fake it. I pretend that I don’t understand anything they say to me in their mother tongue, and I make them work for every noun, verb and adjective that they acquire.
Is that just mean?
Perhaps, but they do pay me to learn English, and they seem to learn faster using this method. What do you think? Do you only speak English in your classroom, or do you sometimes use the student’s language?
People often ask me if it’s necessary to speak the language of the country where they’ll be teaching, and my answer is usually two-part. No for the classroom, but in order to enjoy a quality personal life…it definitely helps.
For example, I can’t imagine not being able to communicate with people in order to do my daily tasks. Being able to understand and get across my needs simply makes my life easier. In addition, it allows me to meet friends and have true friendships with the people in my city. But the problem with many ESL teachers is that they simply don’t have the time to learn the local language.
To be honest, it took me about a year to learn Spanish because, with my teaching schedule, I simply didn’t have the time for classes. And even though my first year in Mexico was full of rich experiences that I’m sure I’ll always think warmly of, quite frankly, it could have been a whole lot easier!
And so my advice to anyone considering taking off for another country to teach English? Don’t, under any circumstances, use the local language in the classroom (because once you do, you can’t undo it!), and above all, at least learn how to ask where the restroom is in the local language before you arrive!
One final note. Have you signed up for our new ESL Teacher’s Newsletter yet? It’s due out next week, and will be full of valuable information just for teachers!
Until next time,
Michelle
Posted by msimmons at 12:19 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
March 09, 2005
Looking For A Teaching Aid? Here's A Great One.
Here's a quick tip for improving your student's listening skills.
Many times students become accustomed to their teacher’s voice and accent, and have a difficult time understanding other people—even though they may do great in class. That’s why it’s vital to expose them to different styles and variations of speech. That can be difficult to do if you teach in an area where English is rare.
One great solution to this problem is to have them listen to different video or audio files that involve other people speaking, and then discuss the conversation or story in class. A great web site where you can find a multitude of these is www.tolearnenglish.com. This site includes fifty video files and over one-hundred audio files to select from. What’s more, they’re all free! You’ll simply need RealOne Player to watch or listen to them, which can be downloaded for free from the Internet.
I highly recommend using this site to allow your students to listen to other people speak, so that they will be better prepared when they begin to interact with English speakers. The files are varied, and should provide enough diversity to appeal to everyone.
Until next time,
Michelle
Posted by msimmons at 08:07 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 27, 2005
Welcome to my ESL Blog...
If you are an ESL teacher, then I don’t have to tell you how wonderful, frustrating, eye-opening, and adventurous this work can be. My name is Michelle Simmons, and I’ve been there! (Still am, in fact.) Welcome to my blog — a place where we can just hang out and explore each one of these aspects of ESL teaching in detail, along with many others. We’ll talk about the silly aspects of the job, as well as delve into the more serious matters of the profession. Ready to get started?
The topic of the day is...those students who have learned English from a book. Have you ever had one? They spend months or years learning English, but never truly learn how to pronounce the vowels or figure out where the word stresses are. They know all of the grammar rules and can use phrasal verbs with the best of them, but when it comes to pronunciation, well...let’s just put it this way, a one-year-old child with a pacifier in his mouth is easier to understand.
My question is this; how in the world do you tell them that their English is basically unusable? I have one particular student who taught himself English from a thirty-year-old book, and then came to me to help “refine” his English. I literally couldn’t understand a word he was saying to me, and had to resort to asking him to write down everything so I could figure out what he wanted to say. He was stunned when I told him that our first step would be to go back to the basics and learn the short and long sounds of the vowels.
Have you ever had an experience like this? What about those students who learn in a classroom environment, but get no practical experience speaking? What can we, as teachers with our student’s best interests at heart, do about this unfair teaching practice? How can we educate the schools that learning English is more than just knowing the rules and passing the written exams?
This one has kept me up more nights that I care to admit to, so if you have any ideas or solutions, please, drop me a line using the comment tool below.
And speaking of comments on this blog. I love them and want you to send me yours, but let's keep it on the up-and-up, okay? If everyone submits using the comment tool, this will prevent people from spamming or saying something that they don't want to attach their names to. In addition, it will just be more fun this way because everyone will be able to see all of the comments.
On another note, we are starting a monthly newsletter just for ESL teachers! The first issue will be out March 15 — if you want to keep up-to-date with trends, issues, conferences and more, stay tuned. I should have the subscription link for you by next week.
Well, that’s it for today. Tune in next time to talk about private classes. Opinions vary widely on this one, and if you would like yours considered, hit the comment link below and tell me what you think. Is it possible to make a living giving only private classes? Are they more trouble than they’re worth?
Until next time,
Michelle
Posted by msimmons at 06:15 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
